Searching
by outside998
Summary: Tsubasa returned from her vacation in France, and now looks for Maria.


Her blue hair swung through the air, not unlike a whip, as she turned her head left and right into every room she passed. Her patience grew thinner by the second.

"Oh, Tsubasa-san," came the energetic voice of the equally hyper Hibiki from behind her. Tsubasa turned around to her in the narrow hallway of the submarine, without so much as a greeting.

With strong, quick steps, the brunette closed the distance between them. "I didn't know you are back already. Did you enjoy your holiday in France?"

But Tsubasa did not have the time to waste with stupid questions about past happenstances. "Have you seen Maria?" she asked, her voice deep and tense.

Hibiki was taken aback by the tone of her voice. "Woah. Is everything alright between you two?"

"Answer the question, Tachibana." Her eyes were piercing.

Hibiki decided it was better to not pry on the matter and to answer her. "Not recently, no. I saw her in the cafeteria a few hours ago."

"Thanks." Her tone did not really sound thankful. Leaving Hibiki confused in the hallway, she made her way to her destination.

The doors to the cafeteria opened quickly, but still too slow for her taste. As her eyes scanned over the room, she could feel her impatience grow.

The room was clean, immaculate. And completely devoid of human life. But honestly, what did she expect? It was nine o'clock in the evening.

She turned around, in an attempt to keep scanning the hallways, but bumped into something soft she didn't even notice before.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, Yukine," Tsubasa mumbled as her eyes trailed past her towards the remaining doors of the living quarters.

Chris wiped her hand over the comfortable shirt the was wearing, an empty metal tray in her other hand. "Great, now I got crumps all over me."

"Crumps?"

Chris raised her tray demonstratively. "Yeah. I had a little evening snack before bed. And my sleeping shirt as well, it seems."

Tsubasa didn't pay her much mind. Her head turned to look down the way she came.

"What's up with you? Did something happen on your vacation? Welcome back, by the way."

"My vacation was fine. Did you see Maria somewhere?"

Chris arched an eyebrow at her question. "She was in Elfnein's lab a while ago. Needed to get her relic checked."

And with that, Tsubasa had a new destination. She quickly stepped around Chris and stormed down the hallway towards Elfnein's laboratory.

Chris shook her head in resignation. "Seems like you need to get your head checked."

"Is Maria here?" Tsubasa blurted out as she dashed into the laboratory.

Elfnein let out a shrill yelp, the tool in her hand flying through the air and landing in her lap. She clutched her chest to steady her raging heartbeat, her hand gripping her work desk. "What the hack, Tsubasa-san? Can't you knock? I wanted to still experience my adult years, thank you very much."

"Is she here or not?"

Elfnein regarded her with a look of pure bewilderment. Her arm extended and waved over her small lab. "What do you think? Does this look like she is here?"

Tsubasa let her vision wander over the room multiple times, as if she expected Maria to magically appear out of thin air if she just waited long enough. "No," she replied.

"No," Elfnein confirmed. "How very observant of you. Now, if I could get back to work now…"

"Do you know where she is, then?"

Elfnein sighed out. "You can't be… Is she not in her room?"

Tsubasa froze. She actually did not check her room yet. How could she be so stupid?

Elfnein seemed to read her prolonged silence correctly, because her features fell in disbelieve. "Seriously? You did not check?"

Tsubasa tried to fight down her blush, but was unsuccessful. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you better be. Now go. I got stuff to do."

As Tsubasa left towards Maria's room and Elfnein took her tool again, the little alchemist whispered: "God, give me strength."

She could hear Maria's voice as she approached the door. She quickly opened it and stepped into her room.

Maria was sitting on her bed, Kirika and Shirabe on the carpet, as they seemed to talk about their day. Their faces carried smiles which turned into surprise as they saw Tsubasa.

"Oh, you're back," Maria said happily. Kirika and Shirabe greeted her as well, but she wasn't really paying attention.

"Akastuki, Tsukuyomi, can you leave us alone, please?"

The two younger girls shared a confused look with Maria. She shrugged her shoulders, equally as perplexed as the duo.

"Now," Tsubasa added, this time with emphasis.

Kirika and Shirabe, obviously disturbed, made a quick escape. They did not want to be in the line of fire of whatever happened between the two.

Tsubasa waited until the girls distanced themselves from the room to turn around and close the door.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Maria, her arms crossed over her chest in discontent. Her eyes widened in surprise when she heard the lock engage.

Tsubasa turned around to her, and with slow, calculated steps and a posture that screamed hunger, said: "If you're not out of those clothes in two seconds, I will rip them off you."

Maria's concern was replaced with a playful grin. "Yes, ma'am!" But she made no attempt to move.


End file.
